who here hav been called evil coz u r a wiccan?????

who here hav been called evil coz u r a wiccan?????

 

oh, yeah. it happens. my parents' neighbor stopped speaking to them because she didn't like the way i turned out. wouldn't bother me so much if they weren't old and sickly and in such dire need of community.


then there's the occaisional random nut. that doesn't bother me because most of these people would probably call me evil even if i wasn't wiccan.

the one that really bothered me was a doctor in the hospital where my first child was born. i was on welfare & unmarried, & therefore, in the hospital's eyes, a second-class citizen. i was on total bedrest in the hospital for a month before my son was born, because i had preeclempsia and for whatever reason they chose what i now know is considered outdated methods to treat it. i wasn't even allowed to roll over. i was in intense pain, and started getting panic attacks after about 3 weeks.

i asked to speak to a counsellor, and the hospital sent in this 4th year resident guy from psych, who ignored my panic and misery and chose instead to dwell on the altar i had set up next to my bed (it was about 2 weeks from samhain), the goddess statue, and my copy of a witches bible by janet & stewart farrar. he asked me all kinds of offensive questions about animal sacrifice (i'm vegetarian) and accused me of planning to name my son after a "demon". (the names i had picked out were john keats if he'd been born on samhain proper, and damien michael if he was born on another day, which of course he was). i kept trying to steer the conversation back to the panic attacks and the support i desperately needed, and was totally ignored. i found out later he had actually started a formal investigation with the intent of having my child removed from my custody before i'd even seen him. what he ended up doing was humiliating himself, offending a lot of people, getting the hospital threatened with a lawsuit, and endangering his residency. still, it was a pretty scary experience, and it's why i've been trying to go back to the broom closet ever since.

before someone cries christian oppression, the guy was not christian. he was a rather conservative hindu, an immigrant, and i'm not sure he was even completely aware that in this country freedom of religion means everyone. either that, or he was just simply proof that total dicks can be people of any stripe.

for the record, when my second child was born, i went to a different hospital, and made sure strong memorial knew the reason why. i had a completely different experience. my OB was supportive, i had an alter set up in my room and several of the nurses who tended me also practiced reiki & came by my room after their shift ended to do a little work on making things easier for me. i was not toxemic, but my blood pressure was high, still i was allowed and even encouraged to get up and move around a little to relieve stress and sit in the jaccuzzi to prevent bloodclots. i still ended up having another emergency c-section in the middle of the night, but it was still the best experience of my life, and i felt my religion, lifestyle, and personal idiosyncratic quirks were totally respected the whole time.

 

are john keats and damien michael famous people?

 

john keats was of course the famous romantic-era poet, considered by many to be the greatest english poet that ever lived, possibly even greater than the Bard himself, william shakespeare. keats was born on october 31, i forget the year. he wrote "ode to a nightingale", "endymion", "ode to autumn" and many many other great masterpieces of romantic poetry.

the name "damien micheal" came to me in a dream, in which i was holding my baby and he told me his name. the name "damien" and its many alternate spellings is derrived from the ancient greek word "daemon". in ancient greek religion a daemon was a spirit part-way between gods and men, sort of like a guardian angel. a protector, NOT in any way a "demon". everyone was believed to have a personal daemon, guiding them through life, and serving as their conscience, kind of like jiminy cricket, only with cooler boots. an example of a representation of a winged daemon can be seen in the fresco on the walls of the villa of the mysteries in pompeii, where it is portrayed as scourging an initiate of the cult of dionysius, as part of an initiation rite.

the "demon" the resident was referring to was a character in that damned movie, whatever it was called. i haven't seen it, and i'm not going to because i'm already sick of hearing it. i should point out however that the movie is a work of fiction, and that the name "damien" does not appear in any translation of the bible, in reference to the devil or anyone else, and it is neither a christian nor a hebrew name. and it most certainly does not appear anywhere in hindu mythology that i am aware of. the guy was had simply watched too many stupid horror movies, and took exception to my religion, which he clearly was unfamiliar with, and was taking the opportunity to make a complete ass of himself, at the expense of me and my then-unborn son.

damie's middle name "michael" is of course in reference to the archangel, so certainly no one of any religion could complain about that. the name also has meanings implying a guardian of some sort. which damie truly is. woe betide anyone in this house who puts a recyclable can in the garbage, lest they face the wrath of the 7-year-old earth-warrior! and i feel genuinely sorry for his baby sister's future boyfriends, because he's already plotting to put them through hell!

 

lol, whats he do if someone does put a recyclable can in the garbage?

 

lecture. have you ever been lectured by a 7-year-old? it's worse than anything any demon could come up with, i'll tell you that!

 

omg!!!! wat a horrible hospital!!!!!!
my best friend called my almost evil coz i like tarot,crystal,wicca,astology!!!!!!!
4 goodness sake!!!!!!!! its coz of her mum, she thinks im bad coz i wanted 2 go 2 STONEHENGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND NOW IM SHUNNED!!!!

 

It happens. When we first moved here a few of the more orthodox Christians thought it would be a grand idea to call us with death threats. They took down my business cards for tarot and astrology. They screamed and ranted. It stopped over time as they got no reaction from us. Damn scary though. Hate has many faces. I tend to think this kind of judgement comes from ignorance and fear. I have seen pagans bash on other faiths just as hatefully. Perhaps someday the world will realize that there is room for everyone to worship as they choose.

 

It happens. When we first moved here a few of the more orthodox Christians thought it would be a grand idea to call us with death threats. They took down my business cards for tarot and astrology. They screamed and ranted. It stopped over time as they got no reaction from us. Damn scary though. Hate has many faces. I tend to think this kind of judgement comes from ignorance and fear. I have seen pagans bash on other faiths just as hatefully. Perhaps someday the world will realize that there is room for everyone to worship as they choose. point well made.
wow tht sound rele scary!!! omg!!!

 

"Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No Hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today.
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one..."

 

i've never been called evil (still in the broomcloset to most), but i was called crazy (i believe the specific term was "loony toon") by my best friend; that almost hurt, lol.

 

I'm only beginning, so no-one yet notices that I'm into wicca and pagan things. But my friend's father heals people by treating their auras, can't remember the term, and all of her school year call her father a ghostbuster and spread weird rumors about her being a witch. It's really mean... Some people are just closed-minded.

That hospital counsellor was terrible!! You were amazing to put up with that! If it was a christian or buddhist altar, it wouldn't be any different and yet, wouldn't they have left it be?

 

hey kitty, that poems familiar whered you get that from?

 

*huge smile*
Thanks kitty. Imagine is a favorite of mine.

 

john lennon's "imagine".

 

he was a 4th year resident doctor, not a counsellor. i didn't put up with it. i was in labor when the investigation was actually started; my (fundamentalist christian) father threatened to sue the pants off the hospital if it continued; & it was dropped. dad told me about it after the baby and i were home; i was furious & called the hospital to complain but they told me he'd already been "reprimanded", whatever that means.

i don't know if he would have taken exception to a christian or buddhist altar. again, don't assume that this kind of behavior is unique to pushy "christians". he wasn't christian, he was conservative hindu. i think he was just trying to be a power-tripping dickweed. insanejester may be tactless and perhaps a little ignorant of the political/religious climate in some parts of the country, but he's right in that people who are bigots are going to find something to hate about people whether they're wiccan, christian, or (fill in the blank.) for all we know the guy might have been harrassed himself about being hindu and just wanted to take it out on someone else, and wicca was a convenient target, because it's even less known and understood than his faith is in the US.

 

one night i had a realy bad panic attack i lasted about 4to6 hours i keep saying i was going to die i felt so horrible my mom was next to me trying to clam me down so asked me if i was practicing any wicca becasue she found my book a couple days befor i said no but she said i was and thats why i have panic attack and she through out all my books she still thinks its evil but my dad supports me and said i could bring all my stuff over his house

 

i have never known wicca to cause panic attacks, but the breath control and meditation techniques i learned through my wicca training helped to stop them. i suppose if your mom's very fearful, then the thought of you practicing might give her panic attacks. but panic attacks are usually triggered by thoughts, not things or even events. if there is fear or bad experiences involved then you could say any religious (or non-religious) practice could "cause" panic attacks. i was raised in a very oppresive fundamentalist christian environment. i get claustrophobic, in churches, even in huge, open, liberal churches. but that's my issue, caused by memories of bad experiences involving churches, not the fault of the churches of any denomination themselves.

i have experience with beating anxiety/panic disorder. if you need help with panic attacks, just give me a pm.

 

Oh, i knew he was hindu! But I was thinking, if it was a big religion, a major religion, they wouldn't complain about it really, yet altars are altars...

Yes insanejester, I realise people will insult others for any reason if they feel like it - but surely it's no harm to share experiences? It isn't necessarily a cry for attention. A thread like that would be to focus on the first post as a big huge ordeal.... *shrug*

 

I once worked in a store with no heat in the dead of winter. One day, a co worker of mine saw the pent I wore around my neck and she told me I was going to Hell. So I said, "Good. At least it'll be warmer there!"

Hee hee

Go about your lives, citizens